Saturday, September 26, 2009

Wire: Boeing May Offer US Air Force 2 Tankers

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2009 -- Newswire services this morning reported that Boeing Co (BA.N) said it may offer a choice of its aircraft against a rival Airbus model in a renewed competition to build a multibillion-dollar refueling fleet for the U.S. Air Force.

Reuters news service noted that the Chicago-based aerospace giant said on Friday it was deciding whether to stick with its modified 767 tanker, which lost a previous, canceled competition to an Airbus A330 model, or go with a larger 777-based tanker -- or offer both.

Boeing is vying against a partnership of Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) and Europe's EADS (EAD.PA), parent of Airbus. The Air Force and the Defense Department jointly spelled out on Thursday how the winner of the deal would be picked, Reuters said.

The detailed draft bidding rules were published Friday by the Air Force for a contest now said by a senior military official to be potentially worth as much as $50 billion.

"We want to understand how requirements will be defined and prioritized and how the proposals will be evaluated," William Barksdale, a Boeing spokesman, said in a statement. "That information will help us decide which plane to offer or whether to offer both planes."

Northrop Grumman, prime contractor for the rival team, is deferring public comment until it has completed a review of the draft request for proposal, said Randy Belote, a company spokesman.

The companies have 60 days to comment on the draft before final bidding specifications are released, Reuters said.